


Beachside

by omnisan



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/F, Gen, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 00:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15207245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omnisan/pseuds/omnisan
Summary: Shepard finds herself somewhere different.





	Beachside

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this forever ago and finally got around to finishing some of my WIPs, so enjoy!

Going into battle knowing so many lives had already been lost was hard to deal with, especially when some of those lives belonged to those of close teammates, close friends. Ashley was gone. Mordin was gone. Who would be next? In a perfect world she would've sacrificed herself, but everyone knew she needed to stay alive, to make it to the end and save everyone else. 

They were on the final push. The current losses were heavy, but they couldn't stop now. Shepard lead the team as usual, none of them fairing as well as she would have liked. Garrus was bleeding but pushed forward. Liara was facing exhaustion. Shepard herself felt awful as well. 

“Shepard!” 

Shepard who was lost in thought turned back to see Liara trying to help Garrus up. 

“I'm calling reinforcements!”

Although the battle was intense, Joker made it to their location. As much as the two refused to leave Shepard alone, she refused to let them continue in their condition. This was her battle now. 

And she had one choice to make. 

To truly stop this there was only one option.

Destroy.

Before she knew it, a bright light enveloped her. She felt no pain as it happened. The light didn't dim at all, but Shepard could finally see. She saw a darker, rectangular figure far away, and with nothing else as far as the eye could see, she headed towards it. 

In front of her was a solid oak door with a bronze handle. There was nothing behind it, yet Shepard twisted the handle and passed through, finding herself in a small beachside bar. The golden hues were so beautiful compared to the white light. Shepard turned around, but the door was gone. A few tables and chairs lined the place, while a lone man stood behind the counter cleaning glasses. He waved a hand toward a chair at the bar, ushering Shepard to sit. With surprise on her face, Shepard obliged.

“Can you tell me where I am?”

The man paid no mind to her as he poured her a glass of white wine, something she hadn't tasted in awhile. 

“Excuse me, sir?” Shepard tried again.

The man seemed to act as if she never said anything. Despite the oddity of the moment, Shepard took a sip of her wine and listened to the waves in the distance. It was so different, so relaxing, yet she couldn't allow herself to let her guard down. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder. 

“Garrus!” She gasped, immediately hugging him. 

“I told you I'd meet you at the bar.” 

Realization hit her and Shepard nearly crumbled. “Are we dead?” 

Garrus nodded, but didn't look so sad. 

“You defeated the reapers, Shepard. You saved the Galaxy.” He offered a hand to her, and she took it. “Let's walk.” 

Garrus led her out of the bar, sand immediately touching her feet. When did her boots come off? When did the rest of her armor come off? She was left in N7 branded spandex shorts and a long sleeve compression shirt. Garrus also wasn't wearing armor, now sporting something a little more casual and comfy. 

“Garrus, where are we?” 

“Somewhere warm. I like it, Shepard, don't you?” 

“I'm just confused.” 

Warm water splashed Shepard's toes and she finally stopped walking. This was an island paradise. 

“Skipper, is that you?” 

Shepard turned around to see none other than Ashley reclined in a chair, soaking up the sun. Ashley smiled brightly as Shepard approached.

“Ashley, it's really you.” 

“In the flesh. Or, whatever. I can't tell if I'm dreaming.” 

“Me either.” 

“I'm sure this is the afterlife.” Garrus butted in.

“Hey, how did you die anyways?” Ashley asked him. 

“I ran after Shepard.” 

“I'm surprised you even died, skipper. I thought you'd live forever.” Ashley smirked. 

Shepard saw a figure in the distance, distracted, and headed toward them. She wanted to know who else was here. The body walked from shore to knee deep water, and back again, hands full of seashells. 

“Mordin?” 

“Hello Shepard. Vakarian.” 

“What are you doing?” 

“Picking seashells. Going to run tests on the seashells.” 

Shepard smiled. He, and everyone else, were still the same, even if they were all dead.

“Would you like some help?” Shepard asked. 

Mordin stopped, slowly turned to her, “Help would be appreciated.”

If this is how Shepard was going to spend the rest of her life, she was more than happy to be with her squadmates and friends. As Shepard walked back and forth with Mordin, grabbing as many shells as she could find, her brain could only put her on autopilot as she thought about too much of everything else. 

How could any of this feel so real? The sand between her toes, the water slapping against her legs, the heat of the sun, the gentle breeze, the moment of calm after years of pressure. 

“I see you've come to join us, Shepard.”

Turning from her spot in the knee deep water, Shepard nearly sprinted out to the voice that called upon her from the beach. 

“Anderson.” 

Shepard extended her hand to the familiar man, instead receiving a bear hug in which she returned a hug of similar strength and love. Everyone was here. For the first time in a long time, Shepard let tears of happiness pour from her eyes. One by one, all of her friends joined the hug until it was more like a pile. 

This was it. This was home now.


End file.
